Zelas Babysits
by XellAn-Chan
Summary: Zelas is asked to do something she does not wish to do. How tough can a two year old be?


Broken Dream  
  
By XellAn-Chan  
  
*part of the continuing XellosAngel Metallium saga*  
  
*******************  
  
"You promised, Juuou-Sama!" The voice of Xellos Metallium rings out through the Beastmaster's temple, "You said you'd do it if I was good and got all my work done. Well I did and you gotta keep your end of the bargain."  
  
Zelas Metallium, Mazoku Lord and Beastmaster, grimaces. Who knew he'd get all that stuff done? How the hell had he managed? When he'd propsed what he now demanded she live up to, she'd given him the most impossible tasks for the day. AND HE MANAGED TO GET THEM ALL DONE! "All right. A promise is a promise." Frowning, she speaks.  
  
You may be wondering what exactly had he asked for, if he was to get more power, the beating of his life or all of his wildest fantasies fullfilled. No, the Beastmaster could certainly handle all of those things. So what had he asked for that was so horrible? What was it she was to do? What was too much for a great Demon Lord?  
  
"Wonderful!" Xellos holds out the object that had spurred his request: his two-year-old daughter.  
  
The violet-haired child smiles. She holds out her small arms to the Beastmaster. "Jeewww-S'ma!!!" She squeals. Zelas sighs. It would be a very long night...  
  
Cautiously, she takes little Xellia in her arms as Xellos and his servant/lover, XellosAngel, go on and on about important things she should know about their child."She might get hungry, but give her food, not a beating." "...Don't beat her too much; she's little yet." "We don't hit her too hard...Verbal abuse is nice though." "...She goes to bed at eleven, sometimes later." "And she might cry since XellAn-Chan won't be here to tuck her in." "She should be fine though, she's used to you. Xel-Chan and I will be home no later than one." XellAn finishes.  
  
"Aka-Chan," Xellos says to his daughter, "You be good. Don't cause too much trouble for Juuou-Sama." She smiles the same cheesy grin that he smiles. "Hai, Papa." XellAn kisses the small demon. "Oyasumi nasai, Xa-Baby. I'll see you in the morning." She waves her little hand, "Ja ne, Mama." Xellos manages to drag his servant away, telling her "We deserve this, XA-Chan. We haven't been alone together for two years and you need a good meal. Now come on. Xellia will be fine..."  
  
*But I won't...* Zelas thinks as she eyes the child warily. Xellia is smiling cheerfully, her amethyst eyes squeezed shut. Then her eyes flash open and she begins to scream. "MMMMAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!! I- WANT-MY---MAMA!!!!! I-W-WANT-MY-PAPA!!!"  
  
Startled, the Beastmaster nearly drops the child. She never knew Xellia could be so loud. She'd heard her cry before, but never like that. "Mama and Papa will be home later, Xellia. It's just me and you for a while." She tells the girl. "NOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" Tears are pouring from the toddler's eyes, which are once again closed.  
  
Zelas is quite unsure what to do. Xellos, her "son," had been long past childhood when she created him. And XellosAngel had been nine when the priest brought her home. She'd never had any experience with a child so young before, and had no clue how to quiet Xellia.  
  
She slumps down into her throne, the little Demon screaming like a siren all the while. "What did I do to deserve this?" She mutters to herself, "I serve my purpose well enough, I've never disappointed Shabby." Suddenly, Xellia stops crying. " 'M okay now!" She says brightly, "What're we gonna do, Jeewww-S'ma?"  
  
The Beastmaster thinks for a moment. "Do you know any magic, Xellia?" The girl nods an emphatic "yes!" and climbs off her lap. She stands in the middle of the room, her little legs spread slightly apart. She holds her hands before her. "DYING SHADOW!" Her small voice resounds clearly throughout the chamber and a dark, thick fog rolls in, masking the dim candle light illuminating the room. Zelas smiles, amused by the seriousness in the child's voice. "Very good, Little One. What else has Papa taught you?" She expects something similar, perhaps a fire summoning or such, but when Xellia draws her hands close to her heart, Zelas' eyes widen.  
  
"A dream unthreatened by the morning light...encumbered forever by desire and ambition..." The child's voice takes on a new tone, her every word is crystal clear, "...leave you to a life consumed by slow decay...the water flowing...the endless river...I turned to look and it was gone..." A faint violet haze swelled from somewhere deep within her, "...This-"  
  
"STOP!" Zelas demands, her mind reeling. *How could Xellia possibly have learned the Broken Dream from Xellos?* she asks herself, *That's the most deadly spell I ever taught him and it took him years to learn it. All she had to do was utter "this is the end" and it would be the end of my temple. How can she possibly wield such power within that small body?*  
  
"Jeewww-S'ma?" The little girl tugs on her sleeve, "I needa potty!"  
  
She blinks. "Potty?"  
  
"I gotta pee! NOW!"  
  
"Why didn't you say so?!" Zelas bolts up out of her seat and grabs her by the hand. "I don't want to have to deal with a mess in my throne room."  
  
"Oops...too late."  
  
Horrified, she looks down at the priest's daughter. Xellia looks ready to cry again. " 'M all wet..." Her face crumples. "Do not start again!" Zelas orders, "You should have told me sooner; it's your own fault." A small face glares up at her defiantly. "I said I hadda go!" The Beastmaster's face contorts with anger. "Don't you talk to me like that!" She slaps the child across the face.  
  
Xellia's amethyst eyes snap open and her hand is upon her cheek. "Papa said notta hit me!" A few tears run down her face. "An' I didn' mean ta pee. I couldn' help it!" Her voices wavers and she begins to cry again, "I want my Mama..." She sobs.  
  
*What a pitiful child.* The Mazoku Lord is begining to lose her faith that Xellia will bring pride to the Demon Race again. Then, as she looks at Xellia crying on the floor in a puddle, she remembers that the girl is still very young and has never been away from her mother before. She is also well aware that her priest had been teaching his daughter respect and with that respect came a certain fear. Xellia, she suddenly understands, is afraid of her.  
  
"Come Little One." A new-found patience comes over the Beastmaster, "Let's get you cleaned up. Are you hungry?"  
  
"...Uh-huh..." The child sniffles. "I want some ice cream."  
  
Zelas laughs. So like her father! And yet, she is almost human too. Very much as her mother still has mortal traits and qualities. She takes the girl and helps her change her clothing. Xellia wriggles into her purple footy pajamas and pads to down the hall to her Papa's private refridgerator. "In there." She points, "I wan' the choc'lit swirly one onna top." Zelas digs it out for her, finds her a spoon and lights a cigarette as the child begins to eat. Then she remembers that Xellos asked her not to smoke around his daughter. He saw it as a filthy habbit and didn't want Xellia subjected to it. Sighing, she puts the cigarette out and throws it away.  
  
" 'M all done!" Xellia anounces a few moments later. Then she yawns, "...'M sleepy..." Relief floods over the Beastmaster as she looks at the drowzy girl. If the girl goes to sleep -and stays asleep- the nightmare will be over. She carries the small Mazoku down the hall to her bedroom and lays her on her bed.  
  
This room is the chamber that XellosAngel once slept in, before she moved in with Xellos. Zelas watches the little Demon sleep. *This is the hope for the future of our race* She tells herself, *This child is our future. And what a strange little creature she is, created from the void that fills her parents' hearts. There was no love, and yet, there was. The two had acted souly on their primal faults, on what they had retained from their mortal lives. Oh,* The Beastmaster thinks, *What she means to her mother and what her mother wants for her. Xellia is the embodiment of a broken dream. She is her mother's hopes and wishes. She is my desire for power. And she is her father through and through, right down to her violet hair and the smile that spreads itself across her face.* She arises lightly from her perch on the end of the bed and leaves the room.  
  
Several dozen cigarettes and numerous summons from Xellia later, the baby- sitting ordeal is finally over. Zelas sighs with relief as Xellos and XellAn come strolling into the temple, hand in hand. They both look very pleased with themselves. Xellos is grinning and XellAn's amber eyes glitter with pleasure. "How was she, Juuou-Sama?" The priest asks softly. A smile crosses the Beastmaster's face. "An absolute dream."  
  
******************** Author's note: did any one catch the refernces to Pink Floyd and the Doors in this fic? the lines to the Broken Dream spell refer to these songs: "Learning to Fly," "High Hopes," "Comfortably Numb," and "The End," respectively. Didja catch that? ^_^ 


End file.
